I only really understand myself, what I'm really thinking and feelings, when I've talked it over with my circle of female friends. When days go by without that connection, I feel like a radio playing in an empty room.

my biggest worries are financial and health based. my relationships with people seem to be the best area of my life right now. i think that's the best one to have going well. the only thing that makes me upset about my realtionships is that i don't get to spend enough time with the people i care about.

i'm going to post this on my page. i need reminders like this that let me know i'm not the only one going through hell sometimes to get what i want.

really good ....yes I find time to have me time, quiet time ...with the girls mainly staying upstairs it is quiet in the LR all day LOL ...I have been happier here , since moving than I have been anywhere! We are not rich, but comfortable where we are not too worried over money ( does that ever really stop?) and we have a wonderful home, sure it has quirks and problems as all old homes do , and we adore our town for the most part ( traffic is a bit bad) so now if I could just find a friend here to share time with I think life would be nearly as happy as it can get!

I only really understand myself, what I'm really thinking and feelings, when I've talked it over with my circle of female friends. When days go by without that connection, I feel like a radio playing in an empty room.

What a great article! I think I'm going to copy it and give it to my kids. Awhile back you had posted that if we write down our goals, we have a 70 percent chance of achieving them instead of only a 7 percent chance if we don't write them down. Well, after reading that, I decided to buy a little notebook/journal for both of my boys for the expressed purpose of writing down their goals/dreams/desires. I'm going to give them their books on New Year's Eve. I think this article will be most appropriate to tape inside. Thanks, Lisa!

Hello Everybody! I hope you are all taking time for quiet in your life during this hectic season! Remember, step back and take a breather! Make it a great day! Lisa

FOUR ESSENTIALS FOR HAPPINESS by Brian Tracy

You may have a thousand different goals over the course of your lifetime, but they all will fall into one of four basic categories. Everything you do is an attempt to enhance the quality of your life in one or more of these areas.

The first category is your desire for happy relationships. You want to love and be loved by others. You want to have a happy, harmonious home life. You want to get along well with the people around you, and you want to earn the respect of the people you respect. Your involvement in social and community affairs results from your desire to have happy interactions with others and to make a contribution to the society you live in.

The second category is your desire for interesting and challenging work. You want to make a good living, of course, but more than that, you want to really enjoy your occupation or profession. The very best times of your life are when you are completely absorbed in your work.

The third category is your desire for financial independence. You want to be free from worries about money. You want to have enough money in the bank so that you can make decisions without counting your pennies. You want to achieve a certain financial state so that you can retire in comfort and never have to be concerned about whether or not you have enough money to support your lifestyle. Financial independence frees you from poverty and a need to depend upon others for your livelihood. If you save and invest regularly throughout your working life, you will eventually reach the point where you will never have to work again.

The fourth and final category is your desire for good health, to be free of pain and illness and to have a continuous flow of energy and feelings of well-being. In fact, your health is so central to your life that you take it for granted until something happens to disrupt it.

Peace of mind is essential for every one of these. The greater your peace of mind, the more relaxed and positive you are, the less stress you suffer, the better is your overall health.

The more peace of mind you have, the better are your relationships, the more optimistic, friendly and confident you are with everyone in your life. When you feel good about yourself on the inside, you do your work better and take more pride in it. You are a better boss and coworker. And the greater your overall peace of mind, the more likely you are to earn a good living, save regularly for the future and ultimately achieve financial independence.

Life is very much a study of attention. Whatever you dwell upon and think about grows and expands in your life. The more you pay attention to your relationships, the quality and quantity of your work, your finances and your health, the better they will become and the happier you will be.

ACTION EXERCISES Here are three things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.

First, take time on a regular basis to think about what would make you really happy in each of the four areas.

Second, set specific, measurable goals for improvement in your relationships, your health, your work and your finances and write them down.

Third, resolve to do something every day to increase the quality of some area of your life - and then keep your resolution.

SparkPeople, SparkCoach, SparkPages, SparkPoints, SparkDiet, SparkAmerica, SparkRecipes, DailySpark, and other marks are trademarks of SparkPeople, Inc. All Rights Reserved. No portion of this website can be used without the permission of SparkPeople or its authorized affiliates.
SPARKPEOPLE is a registered trademark of SparkPeople, Inc. in the United States, European Union, Canada, and Australia. All rights reserved.

NOTE: Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy last updated on October 25, 2013